Jaguar Land Rover to gradually resume production from May 18

Whitley [UK], April 24 (ANI): Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to gradually resume production from May 18 starting with manufacturing plants at Solihull in the UK as well as in Slovakia and Austria.
"In China, we are beginning to see recovery in vehicle sales and customers are returning to our showrooms. Our joint venture plant in Changshu has been in operation since the middle of February," JLR said in a statement.
As countries are relaxing distancing guidelines and retailers are reopening around the world, the restart of production at our other plants will be confirmed in due course, it added.
"The health and well-being of our employees is our first priority. We are developing a robust protocol and guidelines to support a safe return to work. We will adopt strict social distancing measures across our business and are currently evaluating a number of different measures to ensure we protect and reassure our workforce when they begin to return to work," said JLR.
Earlier this month, Britain's largest automotive manufacturer said its retail sales in fiscal 2019-20 totalled 5.08 lakh vehicles, down 12.1 per cent year-on-year primarily as a result of the coronavirus pandemic significantly impacting sales in the fourth quarter.
The company's total retail sales for the quarter ending March 31 were 1.09 lakh vehicles, down 30.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Fiscal 2019-20 sales were impacted across all regions with lower sales in North America (7.5 per cent down on record prior year), China (8.9 per cent), UK (9.6 per cent), Europe (16.1 per cent) and overseas (20.3 per cent).
"We continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and follow the guidance of all relevant authorities in the markets in which we operate," said JLR.
"Jaguar Land Rover is doing whatever it can to support its communities through the current situation. The company's thoughts are with those directly affected by COVID-19 and with the healthcare professionals, whose role in combating this virus is appreciated by all." (ANI)